Biography
For nearly fifty years Lil' Alfred remained a cornerstone of southern Louisiana’s swamp-pop scene. Although best remembered for fronting the hitmaking ensemble Cookie & the Cupcakes, the singer achieved his greatest commercial success at sixteen with the 1960 single “Walking Down the Aisle”; despite a modest body of studio work, his dynamic stage performances more than compensated. Larry Benicewicz’s Blues World profile records that Alfred Babino entered the world on January 5, 1944, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Endowed with a singularly airy tenor, the youth sang in his neighborhood church choir and performed on saxophone in the high-school band. At thirteen he began working professionally as a saxophonist for Lake Charles veteran Joe Weldon, occasionally stepping forward to sing; after an incendiary medley of Little Richard material, Oklahoma City broadcaster Jim Eckwith bestowed the nickname “Lil’ Alfred.” Local producer George Khoury soon took notice, and with his parents’ permission the teenager traveled to Houston’s Longhorn Studios to record “Walking Down the Aisle.” Released on Khoury’s Records in 1960, the track became a regional sensation along the Gulf Coast and was subsequently picked up for national issue by Shreveport’s Jewel imprint, yet it stopped short of the Hot 100. Khoury quickly returned Lil’ Alfred to the studio, this time backed by the Lake Charles R&B group Cookie & the Cupcakes, to cut the follow-up “It Don’t Hurt No More.”
Although no later Khoury’s single duplicated that early chart success, the subsequent sides retain the genre’s hallmark intensity. Cut at Bill Hall’s Beaumont, Texas, facility, tracks such as “The Mashed Potatoes [sic] Back Again” and “Charged with Cheating” fully convey the heated emotion and turbulent drive of swamp pop. Disappointing sales ended the association with Khoury in 1965, the same year Lil’ Alfred assumed leadership of Cookie & the Cupcakes from outgoing vocalist Huey Thierry. The horn-driven unit included saxophonists Shelton Dunaway and Sidney “Hot Rod” Reynaud plus keyboardist Ernest Jacobs, whose insistent piano had anchored Phil Phillips’s classic “Sea of Love.” Lil’ Alfred’s flamboyant, kinetic presence proved an ideal match for the band’s explosive live sets, which soon entered local lore. Around the same period he recorded several unreleased solo sides for Eddie Shuler’s Goldband label. Circa 1966 he began doubling his duties by joining the blue-eyed soul outfit the Boogie Kings; a year later the group persuaded him to commit fully to an upcoming West Coast tour, prompting his departure from Cookie & the Cupcakes. While in Los Angeles, Lil’ Alfred & the Boogie Kings cut the lone A&M single “Can You Dig It,” issued under the alias American Soul Train—his last recording for more than twenty-five years.
After a 1969 East Coast trek, Lil’ Alfred parted ways with the Boogie Kings and resumed his solo path, becoming a regular attraction at Lake Charles venues such as the Bamboo Club. In 1972 he moved to Chicago, working South Side blues clubs and appearing with the National Soul Revue, a large ensemble that performed at military installations nationwide. When his mother became ill he returned to Lake Charles in 1978 and remained in Louisiana following her passing. Together with fellow swamp-pop figure Charles Mann he launched a long-running Sunday-night residency at Lafayette’s C’est Tout nightclub, drawing fresh listeners throughout the ensuing decade. In 1995 Lil’ Alfred reunited with a reconstituted Cookie & the Cupcakes for a performance at the Netherlands’ annual Blues Estafette; the enthusiastic response led him, back in Lake Charles, to sign with Floyd Soileau’s JIN label for Dealin’ with the Feelin’, the first full-length studio album of his career. For the rest of the decade he headlined Lake Charles’ Triangle Club three nights weekly and appeared each Sunday at Lafayette’s Back to Back, frequently alongside swamp-pop stalwart Warren Storm. Shortly after assembling and issuing the self-released anthology Lil’ Alfred: 1960-2003, Babino suffered a stroke; although he resumed performing within two weeks, ongoing health concerns persisted. Lil’ Alfred died in Lake Charles on November 15, 2006, at the age of sixty-two.
Although no later Khoury’s single duplicated that early chart success, the subsequent sides retain the genre’s hallmark intensity. Cut at Bill Hall’s Beaumont, Texas, facility, tracks such as “The Mashed Potatoes [sic] Back Again” and “Charged with Cheating” fully convey the heated emotion and turbulent drive of swamp pop. Disappointing sales ended the association with Khoury in 1965, the same year Lil’ Alfred assumed leadership of Cookie & the Cupcakes from outgoing vocalist Huey Thierry. The horn-driven unit included saxophonists Shelton Dunaway and Sidney “Hot Rod” Reynaud plus keyboardist Ernest Jacobs, whose insistent piano had anchored Phil Phillips’s classic “Sea of Love.” Lil’ Alfred’s flamboyant, kinetic presence proved an ideal match for the band’s explosive live sets, which soon entered local lore. Around the same period he recorded several unreleased solo sides for Eddie Shuler’s Goldband label. Circa 1966 he began doubling his duties by joining the blue-eyed soul outfit the Boogie Kings; a year later the group persuaded him to commit fully to an upcoming West Coast tour, prompting his departure from Cookie & the Cupcakes. While in Los Angeles, Lil’ Alfred & the Boogie Kings cut the lone A&M single “Can You Dig It,” issued under the alias American Soul Train—his last recording for more than twenty-five years.
After a 1969 East Coast trek, Lil’ Alfred parted ways with the Boogie Kings and resumed his solo path, becoming a regular attraction at Lake Charles venues such as the Bamboo Club. In 1972 he moved to Chicago, working South Side blues clubs and appearing with the National Soul Revue, a large ensemble that performed at military installations nationwide. When his mother became ill he returned to Lake Charles in 1978 and remained in Louisiana following her passing. Together with fellow swamp-pop figure Charles Mann he launched a long-running Sunday-night residency at Lafayette’s C’est Tout nightclub, drawing fresh listeners throughout the ensuing decade. In 1995 Lil’ Alfred reunited with a reconstituted Cookie & the Cupcakes for a performance at the Netherlands’ annual Blues Estafette; the enthusiastic response led him, back in Lake Charles, to sign with Floyd Soileau’s JIN label for Dealin’ with the Feelin’, the first full-length studio album of his career. For the rest of the decade he headlined Lake Charles’ Triangle Club three nights weekly and appeared each Sunday at Lafayette’s Back to Back, frequently alongside swamp-pop stalwart Warren Storm. Shortly after assembling and issuing the self-released anthology Lil’ Alfred: 1960-2003, Babino suffered a stroke; although he resumed performing within two weeks, ongoing health concerns persisted. Lil’ Alfred died in Lake Charles on November 15, 2006, at the age of sixty-two.
Albums